4 bone rig questions

[Hoptoad]

Question 1.

I have a character with some walk cycle actions that I don't want to mess up. The character works fine right now, but I want to make some minor changes.

The character has Maximum IK Stretching on the lower legs set to 150%. The upper legs (thighs) have the default 100%.

I now realize, I should've set the upper leg to 150% as well. Can I change the upper leg Maximum IK Stretching to 150% without risking any harm to the already-created walk cycle actions?

Question 2.

I zoomed-in on the bones and noticed small gaps between the tip of the lower leg bone and the foot bone and the ankle-area target bone. The gaps are tiny. Is it okay to move the bones so they snap together? Again, I don't want any repercussions to my walk cycles.

I suppose I could make these changes and see if they break the walk cycles, but I feel like I might not notice a small negative change right away, and so I made this post.

Question 3.

When I move the root bone, the character's feet stay planted (as expected), as there are target bones on the bone rig. Is there a method for moving the entire bone rig as a unit, target bones included? Or is Translate Layer the only option?

Question 4.

I watched a video tutorial in which the animator connected 2 leg bones (upper leg and lower leg) to an ankle-area target bone. All other tutorials I've watched only connected the lower leg to the target bone. Is there any benefit to connecting both leg bones to a target bone?

Thanks.

[Greenlaw]

I now realize, I should've set the upper leg to 150% as well. Can I change the upper leg Maximum IK Stretching to 150% without risking any harm to the already-created walk cycle actions?

It should be fine. If you're uncertain, save a copy of the project and make the change to the copy.

I zoomed-in on the bones and noticed small gaps between the tip of the lower leg bone and the foot bone and the ankle-area target bone. The gaps are tiny. Is it okay to move the bones so they snap together? Again, I don't want any repercussions to my walk cycles.

For a joints, it's good practice to have the bone ends touching but, generally speaking, they don't need to be. In fact, I often have bones intentionally not touching in my rig.

Based on your description, the only 'issue' you might see is a deformation from moving the bones, but it might not matter. It really depends on how the artwork is bound to the bones and what you expect to see. Again, make a copy and test the copy.

When I move the root bone, the character's feet stay planted (as expected), as there are target bones on the bone rig. Is there a method for moving the entire bone rig as a unit, target bones included? Or is Translate Layer the only option?

Sure, move the Bones layer. This is what I usually do.

If you want to do it at the bones level, make an unparented 'master' bone, and parent the root bone and target bones to it. Now, move the 'master' bone.

I watched a video tutorial in which the animator connected 2 leg bones (upper leg and lower leg) to an ankle-area target bone. All other tutorials I've watched only connected the lower leg to the target bone. Is there any benefit to connecting both leg bones to a target bone?

I guess it depends on how you rig the character, but I always point the lower leg bone to the target bone. Then, I enable Independent Angle for the foot bone. This keeps the foot from rotating on its own. To change the foot rotation, you need to keyframe the foot rotation manually, but that's normal. It's faster and easier for me to animate this way, and I get exactly the key poses I want. No fuss, no muss.

[Hoptoad]

If you're uncertain, save a copy of the project and make the change to the copy.

Okay, I did that and the walk cycles seem fine.

If you want to do it at the bones level, make an unparented 'master' bone, and parent the root bone and target bones to it. Now, move the 'master' bone.

Hey, that worked. Thanks.

I didn't like it as much as I thought I would, though. I might stick to using Translate Layer to move the entire character and its target bones.

Thanks.

[Greenlaw]

Glad that that helped! Here are some more tips...

When the character is walking a short distance, I animate the root bone and foot targets individually to move the character, but when I'm using a 'walk-in-place' cycle, I'll 'slide' the Bones layer appropriately.

Here's a handy trick: put the Bones layer inside a group and set the origin for the group to where the feet are. I use this second group to add a bit of squash and stretch in a walk or run by scaling the group vertically. It's a dumb cheat but a convincing one if I don't make the distortion too obvious. I use this trick all the time because it's easier and faster than trying to do a full-body squash and stretch at the Bones level, and for cartoony motions, it looks pretty good. This works for full-walking animations or walk-in-place cycles. (This cheat is used in many of the Moho animations on my demo reels.)

When I need to pivot the character at a different origin, I just nest that 'squash and stretch' group inside another group and position my origin where I want it for that group. For example, if the character needs to flip in the air, then I'll make a new 'flip' group to roll him. This is much easier than rolling the root and target bones individually inside the Bones layer.

[Hoptoad]

Glad that that helped! Here are some more tips...

Thanks for the tips! I added them to my pages of Moho notes. I hope to use the tips soon (gotta finish the rigs first).

[Greenlaw]

One more cheat: When I use the squash-and-stretch Scaling cheat during a run, I also keyframe a slight Shear in the direction the character is running. This visually suggests forward momentum, that the character is running really fast even in a still frame. Then, when the character stops, I keyframe Shear in the opposite direction for the follow through.

[Hoptoad]

One more detail: When I use the squash-and-stretch Scaling cheat during a run, I also keyframe a slight Shear in the direction the character is running. This visually suggests forward momentum, that the character is running really fast even in a still frame. Then, when the character stops, I keyframe Shear in the opposite direction for the follow through.

I seldom use shear, except for helping moving points to create perspective. That's a great tip!

Thanks!